ARTICHOKE SALAD FROM MODENA | BY YAFO RESTAURANT

Thursday, March 21, 2019Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Duration 35 min | Difficulty: easy

Recipe for an artichoke salad by Shani Ahiel Yafo restaurant in berlin. We are excited to share with you a cooking session with our special guest - Shani Ahiel, owner and co-founder of the beloved Yafo restaurant in Berlin-Mitte! The recipe, originally developed by the restaurant's chef, is now available for you to try yourself. Enjoy!

One of the key ingredients of this life-changing dish is Labane – a thick yoghurt-based cheese which is very tasty and easy to prepare; Stir salt into the yoghurt. Line a wire mesh strainer with either cloth (at least two layers) or paper towels. Place over a bowl, spoon into the strainer, cover loosely and let cool overnight (about 8 hours). Once ready, the bowl will contain much of the Whey, which should be discarded. Once the Labane is ready, mix it with the spices and set aside. Mix all salad ingredients in a deep bowl, add squeezed lime, olive oil and continue mixing.

Add lime and olive oil

Mix all salad ingredients

Labane – a thick yoghurt-based cheese

Top with the grated parmesan cheese

On a clean plate spread the Labane in a circular motion as a base. Place the mixed salad on top, top grated parmesan cheese and garnish with a few oregano leaves. There you have it – an artichoke salad by Yafo restaurant.

That’s it – enjoy!

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Shani Ahiel | ‘Yafo’ restaurant

It is hard to stay unmoved while talking to Shani Ahiel, the co-founder of Berlin’s Yafo and the recent Shishi restaurants. With a big smile and a positive approach, it is clear to see why both restaurants are so successful and attract so much attention.

Shani, 32, grew up in Even Yehuda, a small village near Tel-Aviv, Israel. After moving to Tel-Aviv, a city known for its vivid food culture, she started working in the gastronomy field. Gaining years of experience in top restaurants, like the legendary Nanuchka, shaped her motivation and passion for the industry. ‘For four years I worked closely with Nana (founder of Nanuchka) who has a very strong and fearless personality’…’and I believe working alongside her gave me a lot of courage to do it myself’. A few years ago Shani moved to Berlin and decided to open a restaurant with two other partners. ‘When I first moved to Berlin I felt there was something missing in the local hospitality scene’ she recalls. ‘wherever I went I felt a certain inconvenience… everything was too functional… a restaurant is a restaurant, a bar is a bar and a club is a club’. Shani’s idea was to create a place that combines it all – “organised chaos” as she calls it. Starting Yafo – and later on Shisi – was a pure manifestation of this brilliant idea. These are places where you can come for tea during the day, dinner in the evening, or a cocktail and dancing at night.

The future is bright for Shani. She plans to focus on ‘connecting what I do to female empowerment’. ‘I feel committed to promoting the idea of having more women at the top level of the hospitality business’…’most restaurants are owned by men and this needs to change’. Regarding future plans for her business, they are still being ‘cooked’ as Shani says and promises more exciting things to come. We can’t wait.

Hangry - cooking sessions | A unique recipe by local creatives. HANGRY takes place in our studio kitchen once a month. We invite creatives and food affines to show off their cooking skills and present their work. The purpose of this initiative is to support and promote local like-minded creatives which share the same passion for cooking and design. All the recipes are published and available in our Journal.